But now you live dispersed on ribbon roads...

Lately Kels has been talking a lot about “my life for yours.” But what does that mean? Do we really understand what this looks like?

I think we will pick and choose who we will exchange our life for. This person is worthy and this one is not. More so, it seems like this culture (or generation) is content to live dispersed—on their own. The whole idea of not needing a team or a family seems to go against the very grain of “my life for yours.”

Am I really living my life for yours? Or are we going to be little islands unto ourselves never caring about those outside ourselves? TS Elliot puts it much better….

The Question of the Stranger

Of all that was done in the past,
you eat the fruit either rotten or ripe.
And the Church must be forever building,
and always decaying and always being restored.
For where there is no Temple there shall be no homes,
though you have shelters and institutions.

What life have you if you have not life together?
There is no life that is not in community.
And no community not lived in praise of God.

But now you live dispersed on ribbon roads,
And no one knows or cares who is his neighbor
Unless his neighbor makes too much disturbance,
But dash to and fro in motor cars,
Familiar with the roads and settled nowhere.

And the wind shall say, "Here were decent godless people;
Their only monument the asphalt road
And a thousand lost golf balls."

When the Stranger says,
What is the meaning of this city?
Do you huddle together because you love each other?
What will you answer? --

'We all dwell together to make money from each other'?

or 'This is a community'?

And the stranger will depart and return to the desert.

O My soul, be prepared for the coming of the Stranger,
Be prepared for him who knows how to ask questions.

from The Rock by T.S. Eliot

This poem hits the heart of this idea of community. Why do we huddle together? Do we care who our neighbor is only when they make a disturbance? Will our monument on this earth be asphalt roads a lost golf balls or will we have life together and let our community be in prasie to God.

What is the meaning of this city (neighborhood, MT, BSU)? Do you huddle together because you love each other? What will you answer......

The song in my heart today.....

I know posting song lyrics are not the most entertaining things for you all to read. However, this blog is much like a journal as it can be considering everyone can read it. SO this is me--what is happening to me today. This is my heart. C.S. Lewis once wrote, "Whenever you are fed up with life, start writing: ink is the great cure for all human ills..." So here is goes.....

My life the last six months has been lean to say the least. This whole Christian thing is hard and at times I have been tempted to walk away. But isn't it wonderful how God can use everything, especially disappointment and hurt, to soften our hearts toward HIm? He has opened the floodgates the last couple of days and I am learning so much I can hardly keep up.

One tool He has used is music. Yesterday's song and this one I have played over and over and over. These lyrics are from Waterdeep's Everyone's Beautiful album. But today this is my song. I feel like I am the girl thay are writing about....

"He Will Come"

Soon it will be hammered into what she calls her silly head---that she really isn't silly, but she's beautiful instead. But every time she gets a hold of something pretty-----it slips away. So she keeps hoping that someday soon.......

He will come! He will come! He will comfort all that's hardened---change the deserts into gardens. And we all will see His face. He will come! He will come! He will soften all the starkness; break the chambers of our darkness, and we'll all be overwhelmed.

She spilled her coffee in her Chevy on the way to work at 8:05. She always thought that she was clumsy, and she hated it., and wonders why--she can handle any tragedy that happens, but not little things like this. So she keeps hoping that someday soon--

He will come! He will come! He will comfort all that's hardened---change the deserts into gardens. And we all will see His face. He will come! He will come! He will soften all the starkness; break the chambers of our darkness, and we'll all be overwhelmed.

Within the world of a girl, the words she hears, they mean an awful lot . And the music in her mind when she gets older has the lyrics she was taught. And when she gets to heaven all the right things will be said. And He will look on her with favor......

He will come! He will come! He will comfort all that's hardened---make the deserts into gardens. And we all will see His face. He will come! He will come! He will soften all the starkness; break the chambers of our darkness. We'll all be overwhelmed.

All my scars will turn to fountains......All my valleys into mountains.......And we all will see His face.

He will come! He will come! He will comfort all that's hardened---change the deserts into gardens, and we all will see His face. He will come! He will come! He will soften all the starkness; break the chambers of our darkness, and we'll all be overwhelmed.

All you watchmen lift your voices. Then every boy and girl rejoices---When we'll all be overwhelmed.

Again

"If you want to know real joy in life, then be willing to let pain tutor your soul. The real prizes are never cheap." --Paula Rinehart

"Hush" by Waterdeep

When you feel like the days just drone on and on and on....and you feel like the nights are quickly gone. And on the inside your heart is gaping wide....and on the inside you feel like no one's on your side...well, I Am........I Am.......I Am......I Am

When you thought you could rest, but you found out you were wrong. And there's another need---another battle-----another one more thing that comes along. And on the inside you hear the fall but you hate the falling sound. And on the inside you can't pick another broken piece up off the ground---Well I know......

Hush little baby don't say a word. Daddy's gone and bought you a great big heaven to rest in. He's bought it with blood and put the seal in your heart. It'll give you the hope you need to get up and start .....again.

When all the things you thought you left behind are still hanging on, and everything you try to do right ends up all wrong. And on the inside everyone else seems basically fine, but on the inside even they won't let go of the dead and cling to what's alive....Well I know.....

Hush little baby don't say a word. Daddy's gone and bought you a great big heaven to rest in. He's bought it with blood and put the seal in your heart. It'll give you the hope you need to get up and start .....again. Again. Again. Again.

New meaning to the phrase "two-faced"

Well, we had a typical Oklahoma weekend. We watched about four hours of weather, as severe thunderstorms and tornadic weather swept through the state--including my hometown of Marlow! Norman got rain and some wicked lightning, but no tornados.

The most eventful part of the weekend was playing with this face converter page that Amy found. We played for hours!!! There is a link on her blog to it too, but here is is again if you want it. Click HERE to morph.

You can insert a picture and see what they would look like as another race, gender or artistic rendering. It was so funny doing some pictures. Like, David Cottle as a girl looked a lot like Lauren! And Jenny Van Dyck as a boy looked like her brother Matt. It was strange seeing Chauncey and Robert Hwang as white boys!

For best results, you need a picture where the people are facing straight ahead. Some pictures worked better than others, but it was fun. Here is an example of myself. If you have requests of people you'd like to see and don't have a picture, let me a comment and I will try to upload them soon.

Here is my orginal picture.

Here is African-American Holly.




Here is East-Asia Holly.




Here is (India) Indian Holly.



Here is MALE Holly...
Very disturbing !!!

Have fun with this....I have everyone's prayer guide pictures, so I will be busy! :)

You can go with this, or you can go with that.....

It is Friday and a long weekend.....makes me want to dance like Christopher Walken.

So many times we want to change other people....which we can't do. Yet we are unwilling to change ourselves, which we can do.

"It is easier to put on slippers than to carpet the whole world."

Top 10 Reasons I Love my Job

10. Variety--each day is different.
09. Answering the phones--never know who or what you'll get!
08. Free food--thanks C-Young, Chris, Robert, Tony, K-Lai, Rita, Debby, Britt, Crumpy, Tygre, Jenny, and everyone else I forgot to list.
07. Co-workers--they are pretty cool! But you've got to watch that Chris Goree! : )
06. Random occurances--like today watching Stine try to blow up a balloon an nearly pass out.
05. It keeps me young....I think.
04. Casual dress. Trust me, once you get a "real" job, you'll know why this is such a perk.
03. Getting paid to go on Spring Break.
02. Getting paid to hang out with college students.
01. Hearing, "Holly, I have a question...." a million times a day, and knowing the answer.